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Rafael Benítez fears club may sell Fernando Torres
Jonathan Northcroft, football correspondent
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div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} RAFAEL BENITEZ has revealed the extent of his budgetary worries by suggesting he might not be given any money raised by selling Ryan Babel to reinvest in the transfer market and conceding, for the first time, that he is not certain his club’s hierarchy would reject a “silly money” bid for Fernando Torres.
Benitez is still confident of keeping Torres — and his captain, Steven Gerrard — even if Liverpool fail to finish in the top four, but when pressed on whether an extraordinary offer for one of them, such as a £100m bid for Torres, would be rejected automatically, he said: “We would have conversations if we had to decide about this.” That contrasted with his answer to the same question in November, when he said: “It won’t happen, I’d quit.”
Though rumours that Manchester City are biding their time on making a £75m-plus move for Torres continue to resurface, the notion of the striker leaving Anfield, where he is contracted until 2013 and where he has declared himself happy, are hypothetical for now. Of more immediate concern to Liverpool fans is Benitez’s hint that any sum garnered from a sale involving Babel could go towards balancing the club’s books.
Though refinancing has lowered Liverpool’s debts to about £200m, plus a £37m “soft costs” facility connected to plans for a new stadium, Tom Hicks and George Gillett had hoped by now to have halved that deficit by selling a 25% stake in their club. However, a worldwide search for investors has proved fruitless.
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The Spaniard expects to buy the Argentina forward Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid for £1.5m, the purchase being financed from the sale of Andrea Dossena to Napoli for £4.2m, while Benitez also hopes to make about £2m from selling Andriy Voronin to Dinamo Moscow.
Liverpool’s transfer budget, the touchpaper for past disputes between Benitez and his club hierarchy, remains a sensitive subject and the issue provoked fresh controversy yesterday when Hicks’ son, Tom Hicks Jr, a club director, allegedly sent an abusive email to supporters on the matter.
A fan from the rebel group Spirit of Shankly sent Hicks Jr the website link to a newspaper article questioning the owners’ financing of transfers and received a reply in which Hicks Jr swore.
Hicks Jr subsequently wrote to the fan to apologise and a source close to him said he regretted what he had done.
Jonathan Northcroft, football correspondent
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div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} RAFAEL BENITEZ has revealed the extent of his budgetary worries by suggesting he might not be given any money raised by selling Ryan Babel to reinvest in the transfer market and conceding, for the first time, that he is not certain his club’s hierarchy would reject a “silly money” bid for Fernando Torres.
Benitez is still confident of keeping Torres — and his captain, Steven Gerrard — even if Liverpool fail to finish in the top four, but when pressed on whether an extraordinary offer for one of them, such as a £100m bid for Torres, would be rejected automatically, he said: “We would have conversations if we had to decide about this.” That contrasted with his answer to the same question in November, when he said: “It won’t happen, I’d quit.”
Though rumours that Manchester City are biding their time on making a £75m-plus move for Torres continue to resurface, the notion of the striker leaving Anfield, where he is contracted until 2013 and where he has declared himself happy, are hypothetical for now. Of more immediate concern to Liverpool fans is Benitez’s hint that any sum garnered from a sale involving Babel could go towards balancing the club’s books.
Though refinancing has lowered Liverpool’s debts to about £200m, plus a £37m “soft costs” facility connected to plans for a new stadium, Tom Hicks and George Gillett had hoped by now to have halved that deficit by selling a 25% stake in their club. However, a worldwide search for investors has proved fruitless.
function slideshowPopUp(url){pictureGalleryPopupPic(url);re turn false;}Related Links
The Spaniard expects to buy the Argentina forward Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid for £1.5m, the purchase being financed from the sale of Andrea Dossena to Napoli for £4.2m, while Benitez also hopes to make about £2m from selling Andriy Voronin to Dinamo Moscow.
Liverpool’s transfer budget, the touchpaper for past disputes between Benitez and his club hierarchy, remains a sensitive subject and the issue provoked fresh controversy yesterday when Hicks’ son, Tom Hicks Jr, a club director, allegedly sent an abusive email to supporters on the matter.
A fan from the rebel group Spirit of Shankly sent Hicks Jr the website link to a newspaper article questioning the owners’ financing of transfers and received a reply in which Hicks Jr swore.
Hicks Jr subsequently wrote to the fan to apologise and a source close to him said he regretted what he had done.
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
heheheeee
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